Hidden in Plain Sight
by FaithinBones
Summary: Booth is a genius at playing stupid. Some people notice and others don't.
1. Chapter 1

(The Girl in the Gator)

This story is for JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett. I hope this is what you were looking for.

I don't own Bones.

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While their steaks were cooking on Gordon Wyatt's new outdoor grill, Gordon sat down next to his picnic table and stared at Booth. "Interesting."

That was one word that Booth did not want to hear at that moment. Gordon Wyatt had just put him thought the wringer about dropping or not dropping Howard Epps and he had hoped that the psychobabble bullshit was done. "What's interesting?" Not that he really wanted to know.

"Well, I've read your personnel file of course and I find this whole façade you present to the world to be quite interesting."

"Façade?" Booth didn't like the turn in the conversation at all. "What the hell is that?"

Amused, Gordon leaned back against his chair and gave the FBI Agent a broad smirk. "I do know that your IQ is 127, Agent Booth. I'm pretty sure you know what a façade is."

Silent, the Agent hoped that if he kept quiet Gordon would change the subject to something else.

"An IQ of 127 is considered Superior." Gordon was not going to change topics no matter how uncomfortable the Agent was. "That means that your IQ is at the 96.4 percentile, your IQ is higher than 96.4 percent of the general population."

Annoyed, Booth flipped open the hood of the grill, flipped the two steaks over and closed the lid. "So?"

"So, that means that you know what the word façade means." Gordon was very curious about Booth. His childhood had been filled with painful beatings and distrust and yet he appeared to be a fairly well adjusted adult male, well except for shooting at ice cream trucks. No doubt Booth was stable partly because of the love of his grandfather, Hank Booth. "Why do you pretend to be less intelligent than you really are?"

Frustrated with the line of questions, Booth turned to glare at the psychologist. "I don't."

"You do and I want to know why." Gordon calmly stared at the agent and waited. After a while, Gordon realized that Booth was going to stubbornly stand in front of him and say nothing. "It's a hiding mechanism a wall or a shield. I imagine when you were growing up it was easier to be as invisible as possible when it came to your father. It became a habit and now you hide your real self from everyone . . . family, friends, coworkers."

Silently speculating the motives behind Gordon's interest in him, Booth finally turned back to face the grill, lifted the hood, peeked at the meat and closed the hood. "You know when you're considered average or a little below average, when you're just a regular guy you're not a threat to anyone. If people think they're smarter than you are they tell you things because they think you don't understand. People are fools."

"I find that fascinating." And Gordon really did. He'd seen personal shields of all kinds and the ones that fascinated him the most were the ones where the user pretended to be stupid. From personal experience, those people were actually quite intelligent and they used their 'wall of stupid' to their advantage. "It must be a great tool to use in your line of work. When you confront suspects, I imagine that if they think they are being confronted by a stupid cop then they can over reach and give themselves away. That's really quite clever."

Booth shrugged his shoulders and ran his tongue across the bottom of his teeth. The sizzling of the steaks drew his attention, so he popped open the hood, looked at the meat and closed the hood once more. "I work with geniuses. They think I'm stupid."

"Surely not stupid." Gordon was surprised at Booth's revelation. "You have a Bachelor of Science in Criminology. As well as English, you speak Pashto and some Arabic. You've worked up through the ranks of the FBI and are now the head of Major Crimes. Hardly the credentials of a stupid man."

A slight smile on his face, Booth nodded his head. "If you don't have a doctor in front of your name most of the people I work with at the Jeffersonian consider you fairly stupid."

"Most of the people . . . surely Dr. Brennan knows you're quite intelligent." Gordon found the attitude of the people on Booth's team to be rather disappointing.

His smile gone, Booth shook his head. "No, she's told me I'm stupid. She didn't mean it the way it sounded, she wasn't trying to be mean. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body, but yeah, she thinks I'm stupid, at least compared to her and I guess I am . . . Angela is probably the only one that thinks I'm not. "

Gordon glanced away and stared at the gleaming grill behind Booth. "Does this bother you?"

"Nope." Booth turned, opened the grill, flipped the two steaks on to two plates and carried them over to the table. "Those squints really are geniuses and when they do their job, they make me look good. If they need to be smarter than me then let them, I don't care. They work really hard to explain things to me in a way that they think will help me understand what's going on. Sometimes I have to rein them in because they want to use fifty dollar words when a dollar word will do, but in the end because they're used to explaining stuff to me, they do a really great job when they're in front of a jury . . . well not Bones, but she's better than she used to be."

"So you don't mind that Dr. Brennan considers you to be stupid?" Gordon was totally fascinated.

Booth sat down and started to cut up his steak. "She needs to be the smart one, Doc. She was treated really badly when she was in foster care, you know that. She used her brains to escape total poverty and she's proud of that and she should be. She worked her ass off to get where she is in her field. She didn't have any family she could count on. It was just her and her genius brain. It's helped her get through some tough times and if that makes her feel better then I don't care if she thinks I'm as dumb as a box of rocks. She's my partner and we have the highest solve rate on the eastern seaboard. I wouldn't be able to solve the cases I've been able to solve if it wasn't for her. I'm Pinky and she's the Brain. It's fine."

Gordon shook his head. "You have a high solve rate because you're part of that team. It's not just science. It's common sense, which is rare by the way. It's the ability to read people and use that knowledge to your advantage. It's years of experience solving cases by yourself and with others. Your EQ, your emotional intelligence is quite high, so with that and an IQ of 127 you're quite a valuable asset to your team."

"Thanks Doc." Booth was rarely complimented about anything and he appreciated it when he was. "I want to remind you that you're my psychologist and I don't give you permission to talk about what we just talked about to Bones or anyone else at the Lab."

A knowing look flashed across Gordon's face. "Like I said, you're EQ is quite high."

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	2. Chapter 2

(The Knight on the Grid)

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I don't own Bones.

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Booth was leaning against the railing while Zach checked each individual mirror in Gormogon's vault. Brennan had gone back to her office and Booth was waiting for the FBI techs to arrive to verify Zach's findings about the network of mirrors in the vault.

"So were you tested for Spatial Intelligence or is that just something you figured out on your own?" Booth was bored and he wanted to leave. He had a pile of paperwork on his desk and it wasn't getting done while he was at the Jeffersonian.

Surprised that Booth was talking to him, Zach stopped examining a mirror in the corner of the main vault and turned to look at the agent. "I was tested in college. One of my professors was doing a study on spatial reasoning and the variances if any between genders. He asked me to participate . . . I didn't mention Spatial Intelligence, I said that I have an overdeveloped sense of spatial reasoning which allows me to recognize when things that appear random to some people looks deliberate to me . . . Are you familiar with Spatial Intelligence?"

Not sure why he was actually talking to Zach, Booth moved over to a stool near the silver skeleton and sat down. "Sure, I was tested for it in the Army . . . some mental rotation tests. I didn't do too bad."

"For map reading?" Zach knew some of Booth's background and found the Agent to be fascinating. "I know you were a Ranger and not an engineer."

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a sniper. I need to be able to read maps yeah amongst other things."

The sound of footsteps on the staircase next to the vault stopped the conversation which was fine with Booth. Once he explained what he wanted the techs to do, he left the basement, walked through the Lab and out of the building. Since he was hungry, he walked over to the Royal Diner and bought himself some lunch.

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Once the FBI techs took over, Zach left the basement and went back to his office in the Lab area. Thinking over his conversation with Booth, he was startled when someone knocked on the doorframe to the entrance of his office.

Cam entered the room and handed the young man a file. "This is Hodgins' analysis of the bones on the second skeleton."

Zach refocused upon his surroundings, stood up and held out his hand towards Cam. Once the folder was in his hand, he paused before he opened it. "Agent Booth is quite intelligent isn't he? I mean he appears to be of average intelligence, but clearly he is smarter than that."

Surprised at the subject of the conversation, Cam shrugged her shoulders. "Booth isn't as stupid as you and the rest of the people around here assume. Of course, he has a tendency to ask questions that can make you question his intelligence, but you should keep in mind that he has a Bachelors' degree in Criminology and he is the head of Major Crimes. You can't be stupid and run a department at the Hoover."

"He asked me about Spatial Intelligence a little while ago." Zach clearly needed to rethink what he thought about the Agent. "He was tested for it in in the Army."

Amused that Zach was so puzzled about Booth, Cam smiled. "You should never judge someone by appearances. People are usually more complex than they appear. Booth may not be a genius, but he's smart enough."

Angela walked into the room and smiled. "Booth is a genius at playing stupid."

"Booth is a genius at playing stupid?" Zach turned to face Angela. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would someone want to appear less intelligent than they are?"

The artist had overheard part of the conversation as she had walked by Zach's office and couldn't help but join in. "Because it gives him an advantage."

Cam nodded her head. "Yes. When he's interrogating a suspect, if that person believes he or she's smarter than Booth, he or she might become careless and admit to more than they meant to. Some people like to feel superior and that can be their downfall."

"I'll say." Angela nodded her head. "Look at Dr. Aldridge. He thought he was smarter than everyone here including Brennan. If he'd confessed what he knew about Kristen Reardon at the beginning he'd probably still be alive today. His superiority complex got him killed."

"Interesting." Zach mused over what Angela had said. "Still it seems odd to pretend to be stupid when you aren't. I'm really not good at what motivates people. I can understand the reasoning behind Agent Booth's ploy when he wants to interrogate suspects, but why continue the deception around the Lab. Why does he want to appear less intelligent than he really is when he's with us?"

Angela laughed. "I don't know, but it makes it interesting around here. I have no idea when he's pretending and when he isn't when it comes to the questions he asks. Most of the time, I can't tell if he really doesn't know what we're talking about or not. Maybe it's just a game he's playing."

Since Cam knew that Booth hated to be gossiped about, she thought it was time to bow out of the conversation. One way to get on his shit list was to give out personal information about him to someone else. Booth valued his privacy and he could bear a grudge if he thought someone was spreading gossip about him. "Zach, I gave you Hodgins' report. I have a meeting I need to attend to in a little while."

Once Cam was gone, Angela patted Zach's shoulder. "My advice to you is to treat Booth like you always do. Don't assume he's pretending to be dumb and understands something when he asks you a question. Just answer the question and move on. Let's not make him angry, no one needs Booth angry."

"Yes, of course." Zach thought about it for a few seconds. "Since he likes to pretend he is ignorant I will continue to treat him that way."

Her eyes grew wide and her face froze for a second. "Um, okay. Maybe you should just treat him like you would me."

"But you are actually quite intelligent." Zach was confused again. "You aren't ignorant."

"That's my point." Angela sighed. Sometimes she felt like she was talking to a brick wall. "Neither is Booth."

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	3. Chapter 3

(The Hole in the Heart)

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I really don't own Bones.

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His jacket on the counter, his sleeves rolled up, scrubbing his hands and wrists, Booth tried to wash off as much of the blood as he could, but he knew that the blood under his fingernails would remain until he could use a nail brush at home to finish the job.

As if he was walking in a fog, Hodgins entered the restroom and abruptly stopped. "Um, I can come back."

His eyes on his soapy fingers, Booth shook his head. "You got to go, you got to go."

Thankful that Booth wasn't in a foul mood, Hodgins hurried over to a urinal and unzipped his pants. "Cam said that it looks like the bullet nicked Vincent's aorta. You couldn't have saved him, Booth. No one could."

Booth's hands as clean as they were going to be for now, the Agent turned off the water and grabbed some paper towels. "Yeah, I knew it was a traumatic aortic rupture as soon as I saw all of the blood pumping from his chest. Bones . . . I had to try to save him even though I knew I couldn't. Bones needed me to try."

Surprised, Hodgins turned to head to stare at Booth. "Dude, you know about traumatic aortic ruptures?"

Irritated, Booth tossed the now damp paper towels in the waste bin under the sink and rolled down his sleeves. "I was a sniper in the Army, I'm not an idiot no matter what you think." Quickly grabbing his jacket, Booth pulled it on. "Why don't you think before you speak? I do have a college education, you know and I've been working with Bones for a long time." Slamming his hand against the door, Booth pushed on it hard enough to force the door to slam against the wall outside the room. Fuming, he left the restroom, marched down the hallway and out of the Lab.

Stunned at the turn of events, Hodgins finished his business, washed and dried his hands and left the restroom, searching the hallway to see if he could still see Booth. The agent gone, Hodgins felt terrible that Booth thought he thought the agent was stupid. He knew the man wasn't a genius, but he never considered his friend to be an idiot. "Damn it."

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Booth's team was going to have a meeting in thirty minutes at the Hoover and he was trying to come up with a plan to get his partner to stay in his apartment overnight. Brodsky was still on the loose and he couldn't risk Brennan being murdered by the assassin. He'd do everything he could to protect her whether she wanted him to or not. A light rap on his door broke through Booth's thoughts and caused him to focus on something else.

Hodgins cleared his throat, opened the door and moved a foot inside the room. "Booth, may I speak to you?"

Warily, Booth nodded his head and leaned back against his chair. "Do you have some info for me, like where I can find Brodsky?"

"No." The entomologist moved across the room and stood in front of Booth's desk. "I came to apologize."

His face an emotionless mask, Booth clasped his hands together. "Go ahead."

Slightly amused, Hodgins lips curled up slightly. "Yeah . . . look I didn't mean to imply that you're stupid. I know you're not. You couldn't do your job and be average or less than average. You just surprised me when you mentioned the traumatic aortic rupture. I know science isn't your thing, it's mine, it's the group at the Lab. I really shouldn't have said anything because you're right, you have been working with Dr. B for a long time and you're sharp. Of course you've picked up stuff along the way. I really do apologize for making you think that I think you're stupid. I don't. I really don't."

Sincerity clearly written on Hodgins' face, Booth finally relaxed and leaned forward on his desk. "I'm not a genius, I know that, the world knows that, but that doesn't mean I can't learn. I know a lot about bones and a hell of a lot of ways to kill a man. Some I learned in the Army doing my job as a Ranger and some I learned working with Bones and the rest of you squints. I may not be able to name every bone in the human body or every bug I see or every leaf or twig that falls to the ground, but I know some bones, some bugs and some trees. I'm like anyone else. I learn as I go. You don't have to have a doctor in front of your name to be an expert in a field and you don't have to be a doctor to learn about the human body. Experience has taken care of a lot of that for me."

Slowly, Hodgins nodded his head and sat down on the chair next to him. "Yeah, that's true. I have three degrees and I'm still learning. I learn new things every day and I love it. I love the discovery process, it's so exciting. It's one of the reasons why I love working at the Jeffersonian. Every case we get seems to present me with new facts to add to my repertoire. I could never get a job that is as exciting as the one I have right now."

He didn't want to sour his friendship, so Booth nodded his head and accepted his friend's apology. "Okay, look, I get it. I accept your apology. Just the next time, don't act so surprised if I actually know something. I may not understand all the crap that comes out of your mouth, but I do understand some of it. I'm learning everyday just like you . . . that doesn't mean I don't want you to speak American to me. I hate that you squints constantly have to use big words when regular words will do. It's okay to talk like that when you talk to each other, but talking like you swallowed a dictionary to regular people just makes them feel stupid and most of us aren't."

"No, I know that." Hodgins was relieved that his friends was still his friend. "I'll forget, you know that, I get excited about my work sometimes. I can't help it, but all you have to do is ask me what I mean and I'll be more than happy to explain it."

Satisfied, Booth smiled. "Fine, I can do that. When you go home tonight be careful. Brodsky is still out there and until I can catch him we're all in danger."

"Oh, Ange and I aren't going home tonight." Grimly, Hodgins crossed his arms and sighed. "I have way too much work to do. We need to find Brodsky and I still have evidence I can examine. Since I'm staying at the Lab no way Angela is going home alone."

"Good." Booth was satisfied. "That's good. I'm going to talk Bones into staying at my place. I'll protect her and you protect Angela. Cam said she's going to sleep in her office, so we don't need to worry about her either."

Hodgins stood up and stretched his back. "I'm going to go sit in the conference room. Angela is already there waiting for me . . . We're going to get him, Booth. We're going to find out where he is so you can find Brodsky and then we're all going to be safe again."

"Yeah." Booth stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I have to drive over to the Lab and pick up Bones. I'll see you in the conference room in a bit."

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	4. Chapter 4

(The Partners in the Divorce)

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I don't own Bones.

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Brennan had been cleared of the murder of Ethan Sawyer, but all was not fine in the Booth and Brennan household. Their relationship had become quite tense after her return from her temporary exile and that tension spilled over in their work lives. After Booth had become upset with Brennan for stepping on his job, he'd had a minor meltdown and completely stepped on her job. To her surprise he had given detailed instructions to the techs on how to transport the victim to the Lab and got nothing wrong.

Brennan had a lot of things to think to about for the rest of the case, so she had pushed that surprising display of knowledge by Booth to the back of her mind. When she had time, she knew she would ruminate about it and its broad implications.

The tension between Booth and Brennan was thick and became thicker until they'd blown up at each other in front of a possible murder suspect and Brennan's stubbornness had propelled her to lean into a chute on the side of a building causing Booth to grab her legs and protect her from a possible long fall to the ground below.

Brennan knew that something was wrong with her relationship with her partner, but Booth didn't seem to be willing to tell her what it was. This forced her to seek help from Sweets. Once it was clear what the problem was, Brennan talked to Booth and they came to an understanding. The tension was still there, but not as intense as before and they both knew it would fade with time.

Once she had time, she had thought over Booth's past behavior and it came as quite a shock to her when she realized that she had misunderstood what and who Booth was and had done so since the first day she had met him. She had always considered him a man of average intelligence and with her guidance he had become a fine investigator for the FBI. After his storming about the crime scene a few days earlier, she had come to realize that there were hidden layers to Booth that she hadn't realized were there.

She had found herself confused about her lover and partner and talked it over with her best friend, Angela who had repeated something she'd said in the past. "Booth is brilliant at pretending to be stupider than he actually is, most of the time anyway."

Confused, Brennan shook her head. "You've said that before and it still doesn't make any sense to me."

Angela had sighed at Brennan's expression and felt sorry for her. "Honey, he uses it as a shield, a wall to be more specific. A lot of people underestimate Booth and that's what he wants. It's helped him crack cases because criminals get cocky. They think they're dealing with someone stupid and Booth is just laying a trap for them."

"Alright, I can understand why he'd do that with criminals, but it would appear he's done that to me and to everyone else here at the Lab. He misrepresents who he is all of the time, or least he seems to. Why would he do that? It doesn't seem very honest to me. Why is he ashamed of how intelligent he is? What does he accomplish by appearing to be less intellegent than he really is?"

"Do you know what Booth's IQ is?" Angela knew that her friend was upset about the situation and she needed to help her see what was going on. "He has an IQ of 127."

Surprised, Brennan stared at her friend. "127? That means he's in the 96.4 percentile."

"Yep." Angela suddenly felt tired and sat down on the couch. "You know about his family history. It was bad, very bad. Children in homes like that try to become invisible. It helps them to survive. The beatings he got from his father . . . well, I'm sure he learned early not to stand out. He probably found it was safer to blend in and that meant appearing to be average . . . it's a defensive mechanism."

The thought of not really knowing Booth as well as she thought she did was very upsetting to Brennan. "I've studied Booth for many years. I thought I knew him."

"I don't think we really know everything about anyone no matter how close we are to them." A pragmatist, Angela was not surprised when anyone's secrets were revealed. They all had them. It was being human after all. "I know you hate psychology, but that act that he does, well it's ingrained in him by now. He doesn't care if people misjudge him because it gives him an advantage. People assume they know him and they don't know him at all."

"But he's not a child." Brennan was afraid that Booth hid himself from her because he didn't trust her completely. "He doesn't have to hide who he is from anyone. He's successful, he's the head of Major Crimes. He has a family. He has all the markers of a successful man."

Angela shrugged her shoulders. "You and I both know he doesn't trust a lot of people, Bren. It's who he is. Pelant just made the situation worse as far as I can tell."

"I ran away." Booth had told her more than once that he didn't blame her for running, but her actions may have just proved to him that he was right not to completely trust her or anyone else. She needed to talk to him.

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"Booth I don't think you're stupid." They had just finished eating dinner and before they started to clean up the dishes and the kitchen she wanted to talk to Booth. "In fact I know you aren't."

Puzzled and not sure why she was bringing that up, Booth smiled. "Thanks."

She had thought that would be a conversation starter, but clearly it had failed. Maybe she needed to be blunter. "I know that you are smarter than you appear to be."

Wary of what Brennan was trying to accomplish, Booth shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not a genius like you. It doesn't bother me, Bones. I knew you were the brains of the outfit from the beginning of our partnership."

"Stop." Brennan didn't want compliments, she wanted honesty. "Booth, I am a genius but you're not unintelligent yourself. In fact you're considered smarter that 96.4 percent of the population. I know you like to appear unintelligent to suspects. That puts them off their guard and it makes them more condescending and careless, but why do you do that to me?"

"I'm just an average guy, Bones. I'm not trying to do anything to you." Booth really hated this conversation and wondered what was driving Brennan in this direction. "Bones if this is about you taking off to hide from Pelant, I've already told you, you didn't do anything wrong. You were scared and so was I. Sure I was upset that you didn't take me with you, but I understand why you did it and I really don't blame you."

Frustrated that Booth was trying to deflect the conversation, Brennan stood up and stared down at him. "This isn't about Pelant. This about you pretending to be less than you are around me. A few days ago you proved just how intelligent you really are. You gave expert instructions to the techs at the crime scene about the proper gathering of evidence and the correct way to transport the body. Your instructions were precise and completely accurate."

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "I've been around crime scenes for years. I picked that all up from you."

"You read my books while I was gone. You told me that yourself." Brennan sat back down and placed her hand on his arm. "Those are graduate level books . . . Booth why don't you trust me?"

"Whoa!" Booth was startled. "Where the hell did that come from?" He was now getting angry. He didn't know what Brennan was talking about and he was starting to think she was trying to tell him something he might not want to hear. "I thought we were good or at least we're trying to get back to our good place. What's going on? I don't blame you for running. How many times do I have to tell you that? I trust you. I trust you, Bones. I can't be any clearer than that."

"You're misunderstanding me and I'm sorry I haven't been clearer." Brennan knew he was upset, but if she wanted to have an honest conversation with him, she knew she'd have to persevere. "This conversation has nothing to do with the last three months. It has to do with the last eight years. You have above average intelligent and yet you want me to believe otherwise. Why are you hiding that part of yourself from me? I can only think it's about trust. Angela thinks its part of who you are, that you use a wall of stupidity to protect yourself, but Booth I love you and you don't have to protect yourself from me."

She sounded hurt and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He loved her and he would die for her, maybe being honest with her was something else he should try to do. "I trust you, Bones. I do. I am who I am. I don't have a doctor in front of my name. I can't name all of the bones in a body and I don't know a lot of the things that you do. I'm just a regular guy living with a genius. Just because I have a higher IQ than normal doesn't mean a lot. Not really. I don't want you to think I don't trust you, because I do. I'm not hiding behind a wall because I don't have to. I can be who I am when we're together. A jock who fell in love with a science nerd, that's who I am. I appreciate that you don't think I'm stupid, I do, but I'm just a regular guy living a slightly irregular life. I love my life and I love you and I don't care if you are smarter than me. I don't care."

"Alright, I understand." She didn't know what else to say. Booth wanted to be the average man on the street and insisting that he was anything else would just intensify the tension between them. She loved him and she knew that he loved her. If he wanted to keep up the façade of being an everyman then she would let him. The difference being now that she knew the truth, she would never underestimate him again. "Would you like some dessert? I have some chocolate ice cream in the freezer."

"Chocolate." Booth grinned. "You bet, thanks Bones." As she stood up, Booth captured her hand causing her to stop. "Thanks Bones. I trust you with me life, don't think I don't. You and me are going to be fine, I promise. I love you."

The smile now gone from his face made her wish that the last three months had never happened. They had been apart for so long and they would never get that time back. If Booth had a wall he needed to protect himself with then he'd earned it a long time ago and now that she realized that it was there, she would chip away at it slowly and carefully until one day that wall would fall. After all, Booth had destroyed her walls a long time ago. Who better to destroy a wall than someone who'd kept a wall around their heart for a very long time only to have it crumble when they found love to replace it? Booth had her love and she would use that to destroy his wall too.

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This is the last chapter. Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

(Season 10)

I thought I was done with this story, but mendenbar had a prompt she wanted to be included. I hope this is what you wanted.

I don't own Bones.

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Deputy Director Victor Stark stood in the observation room with Caroline Julian and stared into the interrogation room hoping that Booth would come through very soon. The suspect was the son of a Congressman and this was probably their only chance to talk to him freely. Unfortunately Stark was starting to worry that Booth wasn't the right man for the job and they were running out of time. So far, Booth hadn't started the interview. He just sat across the table from the suspect staring at Kenneth Roberts and so far no words had been exchanged between the suspect and the Agent.

"What the hell is he waiting for?" Stark was growing impatient. "He's just sitting there."

Amused with the Deputy Director's impatience, Caroline chuckled. "Kenneth Roberts has invoked his right to legal counsel and his right to remain silent. Booth isn't going to force the man to speak. He knows the law."

"I don't see what's so funny." Stark leaned his left shoulder against the glass and glared at the United States District Attorney. "Booth has a reputation as a miracle worker, but all I see is an agent drinking a cup of coffee. The suspect doesn't have to talk, but Booth can. While they're waiting for the man's attorney, Booth could be putting pressure on him. That's what I would do. Bombard him with facts, rattle the man's cage. This man is the son of a Congressman and we've got to get to him before his father walls him up behind lawyers."

Caroline was not impressed with Stark's rant and let him know it. "It's Booth's job to help me get a conviction. Yes, I've seen Booth do what you're saying he should do, but he's smart enough to know when to hold back and this is one of those times. He's already interviewed the suspect four times since Cynthia Roberts disappeared. He has a feel for how Kenneth Roberts operates now. Booth didn't have the man picked up and brought in here just to stare at him. He's got something up his sleeve and he's going to spring it on Roberts when his attorney arrives. I . . ."

"Smart?" Stark shook his head and turned his glare up his head of Major Crimes. "He should be pressuring the man before his attorney shows up. Once the lawyer is here Roberts is going to walk. What's smart about him just sitting there and not saying anything?"

Growing irritated with the Deputy Director, Caroline finally let her anger show. "There is a reason why Booth is head of the Major Crimes Division. Do you think they promote people in the Hoover because it's their turn or because they're really good at ass kissing? . . . well, some of the positions have been filled that way, but higher up in the chain of command not in departments that really needs competent leaders. You people have no idea what you have in an agent like Booth and as far as I can tell you don't want to know."

"Are you implying that I got my job because I'm a toad?" Stark stared coldly at the DA and wondered if she really was trying to insult him or not. "I earned my way up the ladder. I . . ."

"Don't get your panties in a knot, Cher'." Caroline was growing bored with Stark and she was wondering whether it would be better to wait in the hallway. "I wasn't implying anything. I'm saying that Booth earned his position and he's earned it the hard way. He and those squints of his have solved cases that were completely cold. They've been doing that since day one and he has enough commendations to prove it. The man is a genius when it comes to interrogating suspects. He and his agents interview suspects over and over. They look for changes in testimony. They use information provided by the Jeffersonian to pressure their suspects. They observe their suspects each time they talk to them and Booth and his people are relentless in their pursuit. I've seen Booth interview suspects ten times and each time he's added things to his lists. The man keeps notes and they're quite good. You should pull one of his closed cases and look at the note cards attached to the file. I've used those notes to prosecute with. His insights into the suspect and the victim is very impressive."

Stark knew that Booth was Caroline's favorite FBI Agent and he wondered if that blinded her to his faults. "What is he accomplishing just sitting there? Does he even have a plan?"

"Well, if you had asked me that question earlier then that little melt down you displayed a little while ago would have been completely unnecessary. Booth did some leg work and . . ." Caroline noticed the door open and a fashionably dressed man in a very expensive Giorgio Armani suit entered the interrogation room. Once the man was sitting next to his client, Booth waved towards the two way mirror while reminding Kenneth Roberts that he had been read his rights earlier and he had signed a paper acknowledging it.

Caroline grabbed a folder sitting on the table near the mirror, hastened across the room and opened the door. "Now you're going to see why Booth was waiting." With that Caroline left the room leaving a puzzled Stark in the observation room. Curious about what was going on, he turned his attention back to the interrogation room.

Shortly, a confident Caroline entered the interrogation room and sat down next to Booth. "I am the federal prosecuting attorney handling this case. Kenneth Roberts you are suspected of murdering your wife, Cynthia Roberts on July 20th, 2011."

Booth took the folder from Caroline and placed it on the table before him. "You and your wife were having marital problems. According to her parents, she was going to file for divorce, but she disappeared before she could follow through. We found out from them that she made out a will a year before she died. That will makes you her sole beneficiary."

"So what?" Kenneth shook his head. "That's normal and I didn't have anything to do with her disappearance. I don't even know why I'm here. I've told you people over and over, she's rich and she probably took off for Mexico or Canada. You can't call it a murder when all she did was just run away. I haven't tried to declare her dead, why would I? That insurance policy doesn't mean anything if she isn't dead . . . Okay, I've told you and I don't know how many other policemen and agents more times than I can count, Cynthia and I were having some issues, but nothing really major. She's just a childish person and when she can't get her way she just disappears for days or weeks at a time. Her friends will back me up. In fact I know that they've told you the same thing I have. Sure, she's been gone for over two years, but so what? She can afford it. When she runs out of money she'll come back home."

Elton Showalter, Kenneth's attorney placed his hand on his client's arm. "Stop talking." Turning to face Booth and Caroline, Showalter shook his head. "My client has been interviewed numerous times since his wife's disappearance by both the police and by the FBI. He has been nothing but cooperative, but this is crossing the line into harassment. His wife disappeared over two years ago and he hasn't seen her since. Unless you can show me evidence that my client did something wrong, we're going to leave now."

A slow smile appeared on Booth's face as he opened the folder before him, picked up a picture and placed it on the table between Kenneth and himself. "Cynthia's body has been found Mr. Roberts."

Turning a ghastly pale color, Kenneth gazed at the picture and saw a mostly decomposed body freed from surrounding damp soil. Swallowing convulsively, he shook his head in horror. "Where . . . where did you find her? How do I know this is really Cynthia? This could be a trick . . ."

Alarmed that his client was rambling in front of the FBI, Showalter grabbed his client's arm and squeezed hard. "Stop talking Mr. Roberts." His client shaken, but alert, closed his mouth while the lawyer cleared his throat. "I assume you have run tests and you've confirmed that this is Cynthia Roberts."

"Oh yes." Booth picked up another picture and placed it over the first picture. "This is a close up shot of the cause of death . . . whoever stabbed her, stabbed very deep. The knife that was used sliced her heart in half. There would have been a hell of a lot of blood."

His forehead beaded in sweat, Kenneth licked his lips. "You didn't say where you found the body."

Coldly, Booth removed a third picture from the folder and placed it over the last picture he had presented to Kenneth. "Your parent's back yard. They've been having the place remodeled for the last three years. They bought the house next door and had it torn down. I guess the land is more valuable than the house was. Trees and bushes were planted and they had a pool put in where the house used to stand along with a guest house. It's quite a nice piece of property, ten acres in total. I guess Congressmen are well paid."

"Why . . . why would someone kill Cynthia and bury her on my parent's property?" Kenneth stared at the picture and wondered what had gone wrong. "I mean if the place was being torn up, it was risky for someone to bury her there. Were they trying to set up my parents? That's ridiculous, they love her . . . loved her."

Annoyed, Showalter placed his hand on his client's arm and pressed down. "Stop talking, please." He felt Kenneth stiffen, but at that point he didn't care. The man may not want to be touched, but his big mouth was going to convict him if he didn't shut up. "What does this have to do with my client? Do you have evidence linking her death to Mr. Roberts? Do you have the murder weapon? A witness that saw him bury the body on his parent's property? Why exactly is my client here?"

A gleam in his eye, Booth glanced at the Caroline and back at their suspect. With great pleasure, he placed the next photo from the folder on top of the other pictures in front of Kenneth. "Your parents' neighbors used to have trouble with the previous owner of the house your parents bought. Apparently the previous owner Ted Jenkins got into quite a feud with the neighbor behind him, a Mr. Toby Carson and several lawsuits were filed between them. Mr. Carson got tired to the vandalism to his property and he had cameras placed around his front and backyard. Two of those cameras were aimed at the property of Ted Jenkins. Even after Ted sold the house to your parents, Mr. Carson kept the cameras up. He told me that he didn't trust Ted Jenkins to not come around and still cause trouble." Booth tapped the picture that both Kenneth and Showalter were now staring at. "This is just a still I had made. I have actual footage that Ms. Julian plans to use at your trial."

Unable to believe his eyes, Kenneth stared in horror at a picture of him standing next to a hole on the ground of his parent's new property holding the body of his dead wife, Cynthia Roberts.

Pleased that he finally had Kenneth where he wanted him, Booth's face lost its smile. "We have video of you driving your car around to the area where the house had just been torn down. You dug a hole in the ground where you must have thought they were going to pour the concrete slab for the new guest house. You didn't know or realize that a portion of the plat had been changed and the guest house was going to be smaller than originally planned, two bedrooms instead of three. You buried your wife, but she wasn't covered with concrete like you counted on. Still it would have been alright, but the septic system had a major problem last week and they brought in a backhoe to dig it up. It wasn't that old and it shouldn't have had a problem, but a sink hole developed where the tank was and pipes were broken, a lot of water flooded the area. I'm sure your parents mentioned the water damage to the guest house. You probably should have paid closer attention . . . The backhoe operator dug up your wife. Mr. Carson, being the curious person that he is, heard the operator scream when he found the body and he came out to see what the problem was. When Mr. Carson saw the body, he contacted the police to let them know about his security system. I think he was hoping that Ted Jenkins had murdered someone so he'd go to jail and get out of Mr. Carson's hair. Much to his disgust it turned out to be you . . . Gotcha."

"Gotcha Cher'." Caroline was very amused with the expression on the face of Kenneth and his lawyer. "You are being charged with first degree murder." The DA stood up and glanced at the two way mirror. "Sometimes it takes a while, but justice is always done."

Booth gathered the photos, placed them back in the folder and stood up. "My team and I have solved cases a lot older than this one." Nothing else to say, Booth left the room and found Deputy Director Stark striding toward him.

"Booth that was a good job." Stark had watched the entire interview and he knew that the whole thing had been carefully orchestrated between Booth and Caroline. Kenneth Roberts had walked in to the Hoover thinking he'd walk out again, but Booth and Caroline had had other plans. "I can see why you're the head of Major Crimes. That was well played and I'm glad I got to see that . . . well played." A quick pat on Booth's shoulder and the Deputy Director walked away with a new respect for Booth.

Surprised, Booth watched Stark walk away and once he was out of earshot turned to face Caroline. "What the hell was that all about?"

A smug look on Caroline's face, the prosecuting attorney took the file from Booth and placed it in a brief case she was carrying. "Some people need to be presented with facts to understand them. Stark is new around here and he didn't know a lot about you, how you work, that sort of thing. Mostly because of your enforced incarceration I'm sure and the fact that Durant made it so that Stark didn't have the benefit of your expertise for a few months. Stark knew your reputation, but since you and he have barely talked since you took over the Head of Major Crimes again . . . well, I thought it might be a good idea for him to see just how clever you really are."

"Caroline." Booth wasn't sure he liked his friend interfering with his life. "My record should be good enough. I'm not a dog and pony show."

"No Cher' you're not." Caroline patted Booth's arm. "Not enough people give you the credit you deserve. They think your success is all because of the squints, but I know better and I wanted Stark to know it too."

His trust in the FBI had been shaken since the attack in his home and Booth had been arrested for murder. The fact that Stark hadn't been part of the conspiracy had allowed Booth to give the man the benefit of the doubt so far. The compliment that he'd just received by the Deputy Director was appreciated by both Booth and Caroline. Booth rarely got compliments for anything he did and Caroline found that to be a grave injustice. Things needed to change at the Hoover and Caroline was going to try and make those changes happen. Stark wasn't the couillon that she'd feared and that was a good start.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ok, this was the last chapter. I hope you liked it.

A/N: Couillon is Cajun for stupid, idiot or fool.


	6. Chapter 6

(Season 5)

I had another request to be added to this story from JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett. I hope this is what you were looking for.

I really don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Before entering the office of his new boss, Andrew Hacker adjusted his tie and made sure his jacket was properly buttoned. Brushing off some invisible lint from his left shoulder, he felt he was as ready as he was going to be and opened the door. Once in the office, he smiled and walked over to the desk of Deputy Director Sam Cullen. "Sir, I think you were expecting me . . . Andrew Hacker."

Cullen placed the folder he was perusing down on his desk, stood up and shook the hand of the new Assistant Deputy Director. "Welcome aboard." Pointing at the chair in front of his desk, the Deputy Director sat down and leaned back against his chair. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow." Cullen hated eager beavers and he hoped that he wasn't being saddled with a pain in the ass. "Director Riley told me some good things about you. He said you ran the LA field office for three years and your teams improved their conviction rates by 15 percent."

Proud of his accomplishment, Hacker crossed his legs and clasped his hands on his knees. "I had some fine agents working for me. I did a little shuffling around, moved some of the better agents up and got rid of three agents that were just coasting. One of them retired, one transferred to the Miami office and I fired the last one. Everyone did their job and they made me look good."

Since he'd read Hacker's file, Cullen knew all about Hackers management style. For the most part he agreed with the actions the new Assistant Deputy Director had taken in his field office. He wasn't sure he'd have forced the one agent to retire early, but the rest of his decisions had made sense. "We have a pretty good crew here. Our homicide solve rate is the highest east of the Mississippi River and we're starting to step on the rest of the country. Our agents are the best and some of it has to do with our partnership with the Medico-Legal Lab at the Jeffersonian Institute. Dr. Brennan and Agent Seeley Booth have a great partnership and they've managed to solve cold cases that no one else has been able to. If any of the law enforcement offices in the area have a problem with a case, they send it to us and we get Booth and Brennan to look into it. So far they haven't let us down."

Not sure if he was worrying about something he shouldn't, Hacker adjusted his tie. "About Agent Booth. I haven't met him yet, but I read about his brain surgery . . . I was wondering if that was something I need to worry about."

His eyes hooded, Cullen stared for a moment at Hacker and tried to figure out if the man was going to try to shift Booth out of his position. "Agent Booth has been back at work for six weeks and he's proven that he hasn't lost his skills as an investigator. It took a few weeks for him to get reoriented after his surgery, but then again we are talking about brain surgery. The man had a non-malignant tumor and he had to have it removed right away. If not it would have kept growing and sooner or later it might have killed him."

Hacker had sensed a coldness in Cullen's voice and he knew that he must have walked into a land mine field. Clearly Cullen liked Booth and didn't like anyone questioning the Agent's competence. "I plan to meet with him today or tomorrow, introduce myself, that sort of thing."

"Agent Booth is smarter than most of the agents in this office gives him credit for." Cullen knew that some of the agents at the Hoover thought Booth's success rested solely upon the back of his partner Dr. Temperance Brennan, but like Caroline Julian and Director Riley, he knew that Booth was one of the best investigators they had ever had. Yes, the Jeffersonian was a huge help, but sometimes it took Booth's investigative abilities and common sense to pull the pieces together. He'd read enough reports coming out of the Major Crimes Division to know that was a fact. "Booth's partner, Dr. Brennan is brilliant and her ability to read bones is absolutely amazing. Also the abilities of the other squints that work with her are just as brilliant and they have solved more than a few cases for us, but we've had situations where even the facts were of little help and Agent Booth pulled the pieces together to solve the case. He likes to say its gut instinct. More likely it's the combination of common sense and the ability to see through subterfuge. The man had a natural instinct to see through bullshit."

"You admire him." Hacker was starting to get a picture of who Booth was and that was a man who might enhance his career. The new Assistant Deputy Director needed competent men and women working for him if he wanted to rise up further in the hierarchy of the FBI and if Agent Booth was as good as Cullen thought he was, then that was great news. "Well that's good to hear. I can definitely use a man like that on my team."

Just to make sure Hacker understood his place in the hierarchy along with Booth's Cullen stood up and walked towards the door. "Come on, let's go to Booth's office. I'll introduce you . . . oh by the way, the Director wants Booth just where he is. The man deserves a promotion, in fact we seriously considered moving Booth up to the position you're filling, but the Director and I know that Booth does his best work in the field. He's just too damn good to lose to a permanent desk job. We know that he'll have to move up sooner or later, but right now, he's where he belongs."

The message received and understood, Hacker knew that Cullen couldn't have been any clearer if had wanted to be. Hands off Booth. Don't rock the boat. Well as long as Booth did his job and made him look good then he'd leave the man alone. He wasn't stupid.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

They stopped just outside of Booth's office and Cullen knocked on the door frame. Ms. Julian was in Booth's office and Cullen had learned a long time ago, if she was busy with a case, she hated to be interrupted with social bullshit. "Booth . . . Ms. Julian, you got a minute? We can come back."

A little shocked that Cullen was actually asking permission to enter the office, Hacker turned his attention upon the woman sitting on the chair across from Booth's desk. She was clearly annoyed that she and Booth were being interrupted, but the man behind the desk stood up and motioned them in to the room. That told Hacker that Cullen was being deferential to the lady and not the agent.

"Come in Sir, we're just working on the Greg Dorit case." Booth stood behind his desk and waited for the two men to enter his office. "Looks like our case against Lena Brodsky is pretty tight."

Caroline crossed her arms and stared with impatience at the Deputy Director and his guest. "Is there something we can help you with? We have a trial to prepare for, but of course if you have something more important than that please let us know."

Used to Caroline's demeanor, Cullen ignored her and moved across the room to stand near Booth's desk. "Booth this is the new Assistant Deputy Director, Andrew Hacker. I thought I'd bring him around and introduce him." Cullen nodded his head towards Caroline. "This is Ms. Caroline Julian. She's one of our best Federal prosecutors."

Booth held out his hand and shook Hacker's hand. "Welcome to the Hoover, Sir."

With a deep sigh loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, Caroline stood up and shook Hacker's hand. "You're inheriting one of the best teams in the FBI. There aren't very many agents that have a solve rate like Agent Booth does."

Pleased with the compliment, Booth smiled at his friend. "With the help of the Jeffersonian." If there was one thing Booth could be counted on, it was his honesty. "My partner Dr. Brennan is part of the success of this division."

Aware that Ms. Julian was tapping her foot on the floor and probably wanted them to leave, Cullen grinned at the attorney. "Well, good luck with the case, Caroline . . . Booth."

"We don't need luck." Caroline sat down and opened a folder she had been trying to read when she'd been interrupted. "We have everything we need to succeed. Lena Brodsky doesn't have a prayer."

His smile now one of affection, Cullen shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "My mistake." Turning, he placed his hand on Hacker's shoulder and guided him towards the door. Once they were away from the bullpen and standing in front of the elevator, Cullen chuckled. "Ms. Julian is one of the most successful prosecutors we have at the Justice Department. It pays to show her respect and stay out of her hair. Also, Booth is her favorite around here because a lot of her successful convictions are because of him and his team."

"So someone not to piss off." Hacker glanced back at the bullpen. "Good to know."

The elevator door slid open and Cullen stepped in. "The Major Crimes Division is a well-oiled machine. You'd be wise to let Booth run the department and try not to interfere too much."

Hacker stepped into the elevator and stood next to his boss. "Not a problem Sir. I'll only interfere if I have to and so far as I can tell, I won't have to."

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.

A/N: in case you think I'm recycling names, I'm not. Lena Brodsky was the name of the murderer in 'The Bond in the Boot'.


End file.
